Blitz! [CAUTION: this blog is catching up on the last several weeks and will be excessively long. Do not read if your eyes tire easily. :)]

School Begins
I cannot express my excitement over this blitz. It is not only my last chosen blitz, but it is focused on one of my favorite subjects--expression through writing. This also happens to be one of my weaknesses. It is only the third day of the class, but already I have struggled to reach through my writing and grab the reader. That's what I want to happen when someone reads my work. I want them to feel like I am sitting next to them relaying personal events and the feelings aroused within me.


I have so many passions in life...
ministry
music
missions
mks
writing
family
church
...it makes me wonder how God is going to use them all.

New Roomie
I am now sharing a cubicle with Jessica, one of my new favorite people in the world! :) She is so interesting and mature, which would make sense since she took a few years after high school to get her hair license and pursue professional work. She is much like me in that we both come from ministry families and have struggled and been hurt as a result. I am looking forward to the craziness that is sure to ensue once we settle into the semester.

22
Another birthday! Yes, I am 22 now; I realized that I am not just barely beyond being a teenager. There is no going back. However, I had a wonderful birthday. Birthday calls began at 12:03am with Megan. I had received a card from her over a week before, and was quite restrained in not opening it until my birthday. So, when she called I opened it to find a hilarious card, and a GAP gift card. :)

*NOTE* The card says: "'GUESS WHAT?' 'chicken butt'!" :)

My entire day on Friday was enjoyable--sleeping in, a yummy brunch complete with cheesy eggs, bacon, and biscuits complements of Dusty. Mason and I were able to fit in hanging out at Walloston Beach with a whole crew of other BBCers for an hour or so. Really it was just enough to drain me and nearly cause me to pass out from heat exhaustion because it was so stinkin' hot! But, we still had fun. I got to take Jenn to the airport for her CA trip so I had some girl time as well, and when I got back from the airport I had just enough time to clean up for my "birthday" date with Mason in the evening.

He worked so hard at keeping it a surprise for me and it really was a surprise! Several months ago I found out that Rascal Flatts was going to be here on my birthday, but between the original cost of tickets and then the sudden "Sold Out" state of the box offices, there was no possible way we could go unless we somehow managed to win them in a contest. Since I was already spending several hours in my car every day this summer, I determined to catch a concert and win. However, the country station didn't begin to give tickets away until the weekend prior to the concert, which just happened to be the weekend that I moved back on campus and was no longer near the radio. I even tried listening online and that was not meant to be either. I still don't know how to get the station streaming online!

Mason and I finally faced the facts that we could not go to the concert, yet, part of me held out hope that somehow we would be able to get tickets and go. Because of a couple unintentionally dropped hints, I wondered if Mason was not able to secure tickets of some kind. Trying not to get my hopes up and then show drastic disappointment, I dressed for a nice evening out. When I headed to the car to leave, I saw Mason in his rugged khaki cargo shorts, plaid pearl snap button-up shirt, and "COLLEGE" cap. He had said dress casual but nice, so I was wearing a cute tank top and white linen skirt since it was so blazing hot. I knew immediately that I was overdressed for whatever we were doing. Mason reassured me that I looked fine, to just relax and enjoy myself. So I did. Well, I tried to.

He took me to Friday's and we had a delicious dinner. I was informed that during dinner I was not allowed to ask where we were going after or what we were doing. I focused in on my steak and steamed broccoli. The steak was cooked to perfection. :) Mid-way through our meal, Mason leaned intently across the table, looked me in the eyes, and said, "Marla, I don't want you to get your hopes up. We're not going to the concert." I assured him that I had already faced this reality, and not to be worried about my disappointment. I told him that had I been confident that we were attending the concert, I would have dressed entirely differently.

Back in the car, Mason told me to close my eyes and as is becoming his tradition, he retrieved his gift from the trunk. I opened my eyes to see a card addressed to: "To My Future Wife." Part of me instantly thought that he had concert tickets the entire time and had lied to me for several months. Yet, when I opened the card, nothing fell out. I resisted the temptation to vigorously shake the card!

Suddenly a bright blue package bound with blue painter's tape was in my view, and written on the top was: "It's what's on the inside that counts. Now how it's wrapped!" As I suspected, all four Rascal Flatts albums were inside! (I didn't think he would give me these since we weren't able to go to the concert--how cruel would that be?) Mason had arranged the cds in chronological order and as I was going through each one to admire them, I found concert tickets taped to the fourth album.
I flipped out and thought that he had them the whole time, until I saw the VIP across the end of the tickets. It just so happened that some friends of ours had won VIP tickets, and didn't care to go to the concert! They found out that it was my birthday and I desperately wanted to go, and they passed the tickets to Mason. :)


Prep for the Year
Last week was quite busy between Spiritual Life meetings, moving on campus, a little work, two registration days, and running random errands. Our Spiritual Life meetings, planning and activities were very encouraging. The vision that Liz, Jenn, Annette and I caught a glimpse of was one in which RA's and SLD's would work as a team, building each other up and actually working together to better campus life. I was ecstatic to finally see a team of campus leaders functioning as one. Also, the batch of incoming students is phenomenal. They have displayed positive attitudes, eagerness, and a willingness to be stretched. It's going to be an incredible year!